Starfleet General Orders
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In the fictional Star Trek universe, the General Orders of Star Fleet are a list of very important standing orders that members of Starfleet must ensure are followed throughout all operations. Several notable orders are as follows:
- Omega Directive - It is not clear which, if any, General Order this is; it is potentially General Order #0 or #1A, as it supersedes General Order #1. It is normally only revealed to Captains and Admirals, and requires doing whatever is necessary to ensure the complete destruction of omega particles. Its existence was revealed in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "The Omega Directive".
- General Order #1 - Also known as and largely referred to as The Prime Directive. This prohibits interference by Starfleet with other cultures, most importantly those of an inferior technological level.
- General Order #7 - No Starfleet vessel was to ever visit the planet Talos IV, even for emergency reasons. To violate this order was punishable by death. The reason for this was eventually explained by the Star Trek: The Original Series two-part episode "The Menagerie", a reworking of the show's original pilot. After a time, it was the only capital offense left on the books. However, in "Turnabout Intruder", Sulu states that a violation of General Order 4 is the only crime to still carry the death penalty. It is not stated what General Order #4 is; it could either be the Talos IV restriction redesignated under a new number, or the death penalty could have been transferred to a completely different issue. In Justice (TNG episode), Picard reveals that the Federation no longer carries out capital punishment, implying that the punishment for visiting Talos IV has been changed, or simply that Picard did not wish to convey that the death penalty had been abolished 'except in these cases', which would have been a weaker statement. In either case, the death penalty would be virtually unheard of in the Federation.
- General Order #12: "On the approach of any vessel when communications have not been established..." In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, Saavik quoted the first part of the General Order, but was cut off by Spock. General Order 12 has to do with defensive precautions a starship must take when a ship not following protocols closes.
- General Order #15: "No flag officer shall beam into a hazardous area without armed escort." Quoted by Lt. Saavik before accompaning Kirk and McCoy to space station Regula I.
- General Order #24 - If a commanding officer deems that a society poses a clear and present danger to the Federation, he may order the total destruction of the planet's surface. (Captain James T. Kirk ordered Commander Montgomery Scott to use General Order 24 against Eminiar VII when they attempted to destroy the USS Enterprise and kill Federation personnel. That meant that the Enterprise would have destroyed the entire inhabited surface of the planet. However, Kirk canceled the implementation of the order when the Eminiar VII situation was resolved. The only recorded instance of this order actually being carried out was the first issue of the non-canon Gold Key Comics Star Trek series: "PLANET OF NO RETURN.")
- Self Defense General Order (number unspecified) - Starfleet vessels will respond to force with equal force and no more. (DC Comics, "Ashes of Eden", 1995)
